Category: Article

One of the long-standing theories of retailing is that the customer is always right. Managers and floor staff will discourse for hours trying to convince others to their side of this argument. The facts are clear and there is a definitive and absolute answer to this age-old query.

The phrase “The customer is always right” was originally coined by Harry Gordon Selfridge, the founder of Selfridge’s department store in London in 1909, and is typically used by businesses to:

Convince customers that they will get good service at this company

Convince employees to give customers good service maybe even fear them

Fortunately more and more retailers are abandoning this maxim – ironically because it leads to bad customer service. So is the customer always right?

Scene one:

A customer walks into the alcohol counter of the store, red eyed and in a total foul mood. He goes straight to the counter salesman, grabs him by the shirt and shouts: “You sold me a lousy drink for lousy money, give me back my money or I beat you!” His food store then opens and all the mixture (alcohol, roast meet etc) contained there floods the young man and his counter!

Scene two:

A cashier to the customer: “Sorry sir, but we don’t have coins; can I offer you sweets or a matchbox instead?”

Customer takes the sweets, throws them on the cashiers face and uses very abusive language, walks out and leaves the whole shopping, to the disgust of staff and shoppers.

So, is the Customer always right? Five reasons why this is not always the case:

When It makes employees unhappy

When it gives abrasive customers an unfair advantage

Some customers are just bad for business

When it results in worse customer service from the staff

Some customers are just plain wrong

The fact is that some customers are just plain wrong, those businesses are better of without them, and that managers siding with unreasonable customers over employees is a very bad idea, that results in worse customer service. So put your people first. And watch them put the customers first.

In conclusion, it is important to observe the adage that “CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS KING”. The King may be wrong but will always remain KING.

How do you indoctrinate the attitude of Sales into the daily routine of all your staff in the outlet? Does for example, the cleaner – who has to ensure the shopping environment is clean and friendly – understand their role in either winning the sale or losing it? What about the Security attendant who has to frisk or check that customer – do they realize that they are setting the shopping climate for this shopper? Where does the customer’s decision making process to buy or not buy essentially start? I have experienced many instances where the owner of the outlet go out of their way to make customers comfortable and welcome – which is good, but does this really optimize owner’s time?

All your staff, especially those who regularly enter into a one-on-one interface with your customers needs to develop sales skills in addition to the normal customer service orientation that is a prerequisite for their success in the outlet. This sales skill is especially necessary for the line or shop attendants as they interact with diverse customers on a daily basis.

Some of these sales skills come naturally to some people, but many of us need to be trained to personalize and apply them with ease and efficiency. In addition, it is important for the retail organizations to develop their own personal image, brand and even selling themes that will be owned by staff and by extension, their customers.

The following 6 Ps are Examples of some Sales topics that you need to train your staff on:

Professional and Effective Communication

Personal Discipline and Effectiveness

Process of Disciplined sales

Problem solving skills

Patience

Profit awareness

It is also important to have a regular sales briefing for your all your staff, where you commend good sales tactics, share testimonies of both success and failure and encourage the philosophy of SALES TO ALL YOUR STAFF ALL THE TIME.